2020 - Improved Trump Looks Very Ready

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A heavy election defeat. That is what White House staffers had been preparing the US President for only a few months ago as all media polls showed that such an outcome lay ahead.

But the dreaded Midterm elections, both for Donald Trump and for the Republicans, did not become the outright disgrace that had been feared beforehand. The Democrats hoped for a 'blue' wave that would overwhelm America, but the result is much more modest.

That's what Donald Trump, a born campaigner, owes mostly to himself. He had made these Midterms into a referendum about his own personae and his policies; surprisingly enough, both political parties allowed him to do so.

Trump has been given a slight slap by the loss of the House to the Democratic opposition, but he is certainly not entirely blown out of the water electorally. The Trump brand is still there, and his aggressive campaign style has paid off in a number of exciting races.

<b>Trump Style</b>

Those who impersonated Trump's style won the election, like Republican Andy Barr against former fighter pilot Amy McGrath in a race for the House in Kentucky, or as Republican Senator Ted Cruz against leftist Democrat Beto O'Rourke over in Texas.

That last example says a lot about the most important victory that Trump has made: the victory over his own party. Two years ago, Donald Trump was still a complete outsider. Ted Cruz was a rabid opponent not so long ago. At the Republican Party convention in the summer of 2016, where Trump was the presidential candidate, Ted Cruz did not even mention the name 'Trump' during his speech. During the past campaign, Cruz sought support from the president to confront Beto O'Rourke.

<b>Grande Old Party</b>

Donald Trump has not only conquered the Republican Party, Trump is the Republican Party today. The center is blown away. Moderate Republican senators such as Jeff Flake and Bob Corker have not even attempted to be re-elected, and critic senator John McCain died last summer.

Trump hijacked the Grand Old Party, with its respectable conservative values, and eroded it, and the party has allowed it out of sheer power hunger.

Like Trump's supporters, this party is now more radical right, and so will continue to govern in this manner for the coming two years. On the Republican side, there is no doubt that Donald Trump will be their candidate for a second term in 2020. With his great group of supporters, who seems to continue to support him unconditionally, everything is possible.

<b> No Blue Wave</b>

Yet Trump's power has also been restricted for the next two years. The conquest of the majority in the House of Representatives is a great boost for the Democratic opposition, who after two years of nail-biting and watching is no longer on the sidelines. The power of the president is no longer unlimited and the Republicans can no longer carry out their legislative agenda unchecked.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I do think if Republicans had won it all yesterday, 2020 could have been catastrophic. Trump does well as a fighter. He will now be able to energize his base against Pelosi, Waters, Schiff, Nadler - all perfect liberal “villains” for Republicans to attack on the campaign trail.</p>&mdash; James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealJamesWoods/status/1060168523853582336?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2018</a></blockquote>

There are however a few dark clouds that continue to disturb the Democratic Party.

Democrats lost in a series of prominent races against candidates who had supported Trump with a lot of fire and in very negative campaigns. The Trump style has therefore been rewarded by its supporters.

That the Democrats would not win back the majority in the Senate was also clear beforehand - the opposition cards were just too difficult there. But the Republicans not only maintained control over the Senate, their lead is even more expansive. In the House, the Democrats have booked the predicted election victory, and have also made a solid profit, but a so-called blue wave was not attained. In addition, the Democrats had vainly set their sights on governor races in Florida and Georgia which they both lost.